Design plans for Escondido library expansion move ahead

ESCONDIDO  Escondido City Council members have agreed to pay architects $160,000 to create a conceptual plan for expanding the Escondido Library in phases.

Council members said the move indicates they’ve made it a top priority to modernize and expand the library, built in 1980 before computers and the Internet became dominant forces in information gathering.

The proposed expansion includes a new wing between 30,000 and 40,000 square feet that would be built directly south of the downtown main library on Kalmia Street for about $25 million.

Until a second phase of the expansion could be built 10 to 15 years later, the new wing would combine with the existing main library to give the city somewhere between 70,000 and 80,000 square feet.

After the second new wing gets built just south of the first, the old library would either be sold, converted to some other use, or torn down and replaced by a parking lot, parking garage or city park.

The council unanimously approved the money for the architects last week, but Councilwoman Olga Diaz questioned the wisdom of spending money on designs for an expansion the city has no money to pay for.

In response, her colleagues and library boosters said having a design would help determine whether initial cost estimates are realistic, and build momentum behind the project with donors and city residents.

“To do anything, you have to have a starting point,” said Jim Rady, a member of the Escondido Library Foundation board. “You can’t tell donors, ‘Trust me, we’ll do something nice.’”

Library officials also said they recently received a large bequest that could help cover some of the library expansion’s costs. And they said the improving economy would make donations easier to come by than during the recession.

Councilman Ed Gallo agreed. “I think this is the right thing to do, and the timing is right.”

Having a design in place could also help the city secure state grants for library expansion and construction, officials said.

Council members also praised library boosters for scaling back their plans compared to previous proposals.

The city planned in 2005 to build an 86,000-square-foot library from scratch for roughly $50 million, and some proposals envisioned building it in Grape Day Park next to City Hall and the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.

“I oppose and have opposed building an entirely new library,” Gallo said.

Mayor Sam Abed said the architects should focus their efforts on basic library services, such as computers, books, meeting rooms and study areas. He warned against “expanding the scope” to include areas for child care or other social services.

Jo Ann Greenberg, the city’s head librarian, said the architects would host multiple public forums to gather feedback on the design plans.

Council members also suggested the city should use a “design-build” financial model for the expansion, which limits the city’s costs by forcing contractors and architects not to exceed a set number.

The city had success with that approach on the remodel and expansion of the Kit Carson Park fire station, completed earlier this month.

Jerry Van Leeuwen, the city’s community services director, said using that model might upset the architects, Group 4 of San Francisco.

But Abed said it was crucial for Escondido to avoid the “painful” process of approving cost increases again and again, which the city experienced when building the police headquarters on Centre City Parkway.

The council incrementally approved more than $6 million in extra costs during several years of construction on the $50 million project, completed in 2010.

Councilman John Masson, who owns a local civil engineering firm, praised the design-build approach.

“It’s a great way to get it done on budget with no finger pointing,” he said. david.garrick@utsandiego.com